Family and friends of Reign Ware shed tears and shared hugs as they gathered Friday evening to remember the 5-year-old girl who was fatally shot over Memorial Day weekend on the Near West Side.
Dozens gathered for a vigil Friday evening in the 200 block of South Campbell Avenue, where Reign was shot and killed as she sat in a car with her dad early Sunday.
Family and friends were seen holding purple heart-shaped and unicorn balloons that would be released to honor Reign’s memory.
Her mother, Raven Adams, said she was overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed up to offer their support.
“I appreciate everybody. I knew she was loved but not like this,” Adams said. “I’m so happy that everybody loved her, and I know that everyone is going to miss her. I’m going to miss her.”
In an interview with the Sun-Times, Adams called Reign a “TikTok queen” who was often dancing across the floor. She had been on track to start kindergarten the next school year.
Reign and her father had just left a family party and were at “the wrong place at the wrong time” when a black Jeep Cherokee pulled up, and someone inside began shooting around 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
Her father was unhurt but a 24-year-old man, whom the family did not know, was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition with a gunshot wound to his left thigh.
According to a police report obtained by the Sun-Times, nearly 60 shell casings of four different calibers were found at the scene. Investigators said others may have also fired shots from a nearby alley.
“I wish I could get her back. I wish I could see her again, but I know she’s going to come see me. She’ll come dance with me,” Adams said.
Misha Johnson, who has been friends with the family for years, said she was devastated when she heard about the shooting.
“It’s just terrible that violence keeps happening, especially to young kids,” Johnson said. “I was devastated when I heard the news. You never want to hear news that something like this happened to someone’s kid.”
Minutes before the vigil, several violence prevention organizations and members of the Chicago Police Department gathered to pass out flyers to neighbors about available community and violence prevention resources.
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) said he hopes neighbors will use the resources available and come forward with information about who was responsible for the shooting.
“Everyone here feels awful about a 5-year-old getting killed in the neighborhood, and we all wanted to wrap our arms around the family,” Burnett said. “At the same time, we want to send a message that we have to stop killing innocent people. It’s a violation to kill a young child.”